Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him

 

 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum.  And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them.  Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing.  So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid.  But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid."  Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.

On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone -- however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks -- when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.  And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You come here?"  Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.  Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."

 

- John 6:16-27 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.  Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.  And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples.  Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.  Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?"  But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.  But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.  Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little."  One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?"  Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down."  Now there was much grass in the place.  So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.  And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.  So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost."  Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.  Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world."  Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.

 

 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum.  And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them.  Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing.  So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid.  But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid."  Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.  This is the fifth sign of seven recorded in John's Gospel.  My study Bible reminds us that, in Greek, It is I is literally translated "I Am," which is the divine Name of God (Exodus 3:14).  We remember that the text has told us that it is the time of Passover, and that John's chapter 6 parallels the story of Passover and the Exodus in many ways.   My study Bible notes that in the Exodus, Moses leads the people across the Red Sea, walking on dry ground in the midst of the water (Exodus 14:15-31).  Here,  Christ sends His disciples across the sea and then walks on the sea as if it were dry ground.  

 

 On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone -- however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks -- when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.  And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You come here?"  Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.  Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."  We recall that these were the same people who so desired an earthly Messiah that they declared Jesus to be the expected Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15-19), after Christ's miraculous feeding in which they were filled with earthly things; when Jesus understood they wanted to make Him king by force, He left for the mountain alone.  Here He begins to urge them regarding His true purpose and origin, of which the miraculous feeding was but a sign, and directs them to the greater things He offers.

Jesus says, "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."  He sees how strenuously they seek Him, looking for Jesus, having come across the sea to Capernaum (the "headquarters" of His ministry, where Peter has a family home).  They don't know that He has walked on the water, and wonder when He came there.  But Jesus directs their attention not to His fifth miraculous sign in John's Gospel, and away from their motivation at having been fed with food which perishes.  Instead He directs them to His greatest gift, which is the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give them, "because God the Father has set His seal on Him."  Clearly, in the miraculous feeding of this multitude, Christ (and therefore God) has acknowledged that human beings need earthly nourishment for our well-being.   But He reminds them that there is a more important reason to seek Him, and that is for the food which feeds an everlasting life, which does not perish, and this must be their primary goal.  It does not mean we cease living our earthly lives or that our very human lives don't matter.  But Christ uses once again this mysterious term for Himself, the Son of Man, which seems to indicate the Incarnation itself:  God who has become human and lived among us.  It implies that this is His very mission, to give the food which endures to everlasting life, and that the most important thing is that we realize that God the Father has set His seal on Him.  Just as the incarnate Son of Man is both human and the divine Son of God, so our lives must follow a purpose and goodness set in heaven which permeates and guides our worldly lives.  Jesus sets down a priority here, and not a separation.  We are, in fact, meant to prioritize this higher good as an overall goal of our earthly lives, and merge the two as does His Incarnation.  In yesterday's commentary, we pondered what it meant to feed ourselves, how we can pick and choose in a discerning way what we choose to consume, to take into our lives and, effectively, make a part of ourselves.  Here, Jesus reinforces the point that there are things we can pursue which nurture that greater potential within us for everlasting life, for life in abundance which can permeate even our earthly life in the here and now.   It seems that if we set our sights on this overarching goal or pattern, it sets the tone for our lives -- and the things we do, and the things we "take in" or consume in our worldly lives then become aimed under that goal, and supportive of that life in abundance which Christ promises, and advises us to seek.  It becomes a question of setting a pattern of goals and priorities, and then our worldly life may be guided to support a blessed life in the here and the now.  Everlasting seems to describe a quality which applies not only to life beyond the worldly, but also intermingled with the here and the now, our earthly life, just as the Incarnate Jesus Christ is both human and divine, indistinguishably and inseparably so.  It is a quality of life that is enduring and eternal, and includes today but is not limited or perishing.  And it is the food of this life that we are asked to seek, and of which we are invited to partake by Christ.  In Greek, the word translated as "eternal" or "everlasting" is αἰώνιος/aionios, meaning of an age.  Strong's Concordance describes it as "partaking of the character of that which lasts for an age, as contrasted with that which is brief and fleeting."  Christ has come to establish a Kingdom, and He invites us to participate in that Kingdom, even as we live in this world -- and it is the bread of the Kingdom which He teaches us to pursue, and that Kingdom begins today.  He has taught us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread," meaning the today's bread for the eternal day of the Kingdom, which is here with us.